Course: Introduction to Economics - Opportunity Cost Consider the economic (opportunity) cost of raising a child in its first year of life. Assume that clothing, food, and room expenses add up to $ 3,000. Assume, further, that the mother (or father, but not both) gives up all her other activities to devote full time to caring for the child. a) If the child did not exist, the mother would earn a salary of $ 26,000 in the labor market. Find a LOWER COTA for the opportunity cost faced by the family the first year of caring for the child. Explain. b) Suppose now that, without the child, the mother actually planned to quit her job in the labor market. in the labor market. Of her total time, she would devote half of it to a part-time job in which she would receive half of her total time would be spent in a part-time job at a salary of $ 4,000. The rest of her time would be devoted to a volunteer job in her community. Would this change the cost calculated in a) above? Explain.